The diamond mining juggernaut Anglo American has said that demand for rough diamonds remained steady, with rough diamond sales totalling 9.1 million carats (8.5 million carats on a consolidated basis) from three sights during the quarter ending 30 September, 2022.
According to the group’s recent production data, rough diamond production increased by 4 percent principally reflecting the treatment of higher-grade ore at Orapa, in Botswana, as well as a continued strong performance in Namibia.
Anglo America says while consumer demand for natural diamonds continues to be robust, a deterioration of global economic conditions, reduced consumer spending and continued Chinese Covid-19 lockdowns have the potential to impact demand for diamond jewellery.
Owing to the restrictions on the movement of people and products in various jurisdictions around the globe, De Beers Group has continued to implement a more flexible approach to rough diamond sales during the sixth sales cycle of 2022, with the Sight event extended beyond its normal week-long duration.
De Beers, which is 85 percent owned by Anglo American and 15 percent by Botswana government, sells rough diamonds through ten Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales held every year in Gaborone, with the sights or auction sales restricted to its top 80 Sightholders who buy the diamond packages at a price determined by the company.
With Russian diamonds off-limits due to sanctions against companies, including Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds that competes with Botswana linked – De Beers, demand for rough diamonds has risen this year.
According to Anglo American, De Beer’s major shareholder, a combination of ongoing sanctions against Russia and decisions by a number of US-based jewellery businesses to apply their own restrictions on purchases of Russian diamonds has the potential to underpin continued robust demand for De Beers’ rough diamonds. Also working in De Beers’s favour is the continued development of provenance initiatives such as the TracrTM blockchain platform. Given the development, Anglo American has since revised its production forecast backed by the anticipated increase in demand for diamonds that are from non-conflict zones.
